A Sumatran Tiger Named, BIMA – Sumatra

A Sumatran Tiger Named Bima, SUMATRA – This is the true story of a human/animal conflict Tiger who I had the pleasure of viewing deep inside a forest in Sumatra. We all know about the conflict of the Tigers and deforestation in Sumatra, however there has been some further negative slant put on the story of Bima.
Bima became caught in a serious human/animal conflict issue within the Asian Pulp and Paper company (APP) concession areas. I understand clearly the controversy surrounding APP, however please seperate what you have heard, from the reality of Bima.
Bima was going to be killed and the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Foundation (STCF), supported by APP, went in to rescue this boy. I traveled to Sumatra to talk with APP about conservation issues and to see first hand what was occurring in the forests.
Bima was to be released back into the wild, once a safe location was found for him.
He was kept in a purpose built specialised release enclosure built into the forest, and from which he could not see humans and humans could not see him. He was surrounded by his natural bush including wandering Sumatran elephants. This area was called the Biosphere.
I was able to view Bima once when he was being fed. Bima was fed live food to ensure that he kept his wild hunting skills.
This may seem wrong to some people, however if Bima was only young, and if he lost his hunting skills ,he would have died on release.
When I viewed Bima, he saw me. And he looked straight into my eyes, hissed and recoiled. He didn’t want to be anywhere near humans, he wanted to get away as far as possible. That was a very good sign that he would survive.
If Tigers become humanised, they are more likely to enter human occupied areas and of course conflict, sometimes resulting in death.
Bima wasn’t like this, he was an immaculant incredibly wild boy, so glorious and wild, it sent shivers up my spine. I had never seen a wild tiger that was just … so wild!!! Just like Tigers should be. This was Dec 2011
Over the next weeks, the STFC searched for a release area. They had successfully release another human/animal conflict Tiger in APP concession area, called Putri. She flourished on release.
In early 2012, I was informed of something most tragic.
Bima had become ill and he was found one morning in a very bad way.
He was rushed to Safari Park in Jakarta, where expert Veterinary care was given to Bima to save his life. And I do know that it was expert care, because I know the Vet.
Shockingly, it was discovered that poachers had crept into the Biosphere compound over night and had given Bima poisoned meat. Their intention was to obviously kill him for his fur and his body parts.
Bima was not in a good state. The poison had badly damaged his internal organs and it was then that it was realised that he could not be released. The damage was bad.
Today, Bima is in Safari Park and is going well.
It is a tragic loss to the genetic diversity of the Sumatran Tigers, however he is alive and being cared for in an extremely humane manner.
I hope to visit Bima soon.
There can be a lot of discussion about whether this would have happened to Bima or not, if his home was not being deforested.
People who have attacked APP over years, are the very same people who demand paper in their everyday life. Just like you reading this right now.
I personally thought that computers were supposed to lessen the demand for paper, however it hasn’t, in fact it has increased.
So, you make up your mind about what is the cause of the demise of the forests, is it APP or is it the human demand for paper?
If paper wasn’t in demand, APP wouldn’t exist.
However, Im not going to get into the politics of this, my sole reason for writing this story was to clear up the negatives that were put out about Bima.
It seemed that Bima was going to die in the wild, he was rescued, then he was targeted to be killed by poachers whilst in captivity, and then rescued again.
He lives his life in a humane captive environment.
As much as I don’t like seeing animals in captivity, there always will be, and we must ensure that those animals are cared for correctly. Bima is humanely cared for.
It’s a sad story, but we must also remember, that if we are to try and protect these animals in the wild, then we must be open to every way that they can be protected.
If they are hurt by humans, we must try and help them.
If they end up in captivity we must ensure they are cared for humanely.
The below picture was taken by WWF Indonesia.
This is Bima while he was in his enclosure in the Biosphere and before his attempted murder.
I hope to visit this lovey boy soon and see how he is going, and I will then update.
Sybelle